


Meeting in the Library

by Beth Harker (Beth_Harker)



Category: Newsies (1992)
Genre: F/M, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-30
Updated: 2016-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-30 08:17:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17220281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beth_Harker/pseuds/Beth%20Harker
Summary: Modern Hugh school AU. Sarah’s first conversation with the notorious Jack Kelly.





	Meeting in the Library

Sarah Jacobs was volunteering at her school library the first time she spoke with Jack Kelly.

She knew of him, of course. He’d gained a certain fame among the student body for being the first boy at the school to ever get sent home for a dress code violation (it had been a cowboy hat, apparently, and he’d put up quite a fight when he got asked to remove it.). There was also the matter of the time when he’d (allegedly) climbed up the wall of the school building and in the window of one of the science classrooms, in an attempt to escape from Vice Principal Snyder; that had been before Sarah had transferred into Greeley High School, but the other girls on Yearbook Committee had shown Sarah the footage of it on YouTube, laughing all the while.

Jack Kelly was a joke, and Jack Kelly was a legend. There was a small but noisy subset of boys who seemed to hold him in high regard, but to the rest of the student body he was strange and ragged, fascinating to watch, but decidedly more trouble than he was worth.

When Jack came into the library he slammed the door, and then leapt in between the shelves. He breathed heavily, his eyes darting this way and that. Through the window, Sarah saw two other boys streak by in hot pursuit. The Delanceys. Jack saw them too. The minute they were past, his whole demeanor changed. He gave a short laugh, rubbed his hands together, and winked at Sarah. He gestured for Sarah to come to door of the library.

“Those jerks’ll be back over this way in a second,” he said, in a stage whisper that was still way too loud for any library.

“How do you know that?” Sarah whispered back.

Jack kept his eyes trained on the window. “There’s nothing at the end of that hallway,” he said. “ ‘Cept for the bathrooms, and Mrs. Bryant-Gampton’s office. If Mrs. Bryant-Gampton catches them running around screaming bloody murder, they’re done for. If she don’t, they still gotta find me.”

“Why are the looking for you?”

“Hey, look out!” Jack ducked down onto the floor. Sarah had just enough time to catch a glimpse, out of the corner of her eye, of the Delanceys being paraded down the hall by a very irate Mrs. Bryant-Gampton, before Jack pulled her down beside him. His hand on her arm was warm, and inwardly she berated herself for noticing such a thing. Hiding on the floor behind the library door was hardly good behavior, and she doubted to head librarian would be any more amused with her antics than Mrs. Bryant-Gampton was with those of the Delanceys.

“You know my pal Crutchy Morris?” Jack asked.

Sarah raised her eyebrows at Jack, “I know of a Charlie Morris, but only because he writes jokes for the school newspaper sometimes.”

“Crutchy and Charlie, they’re the same kid. I’ll tell him you’re a fan of his jokes. The Delanceys was bothering him this morning, so I gave them something else to do is all. Happens every morning ‘round this time.”

“Every morning?” Sarah mouthed the words under her breath, then shook her head. If Jack noticed, he didn’t give any indication.

“Well,” Sarah said slowly. She stood up and smoothed out her skirt. “Do you want me to help you find something to read, since you’re here? Unless you want to give me some more pointers on how to get the Delanceys in trouble.”

Jack’s smile was crooked. When Sarah proffered a hand to help him up, he took it. “Some books’d be good. Do you have any books about the west? Like about the dessert, or Santa Fe or whatever.”

Sarah tried to listen, but Jack hadn’t let go of her hand yet, and their intertwined fingers hung in the space between them. There was dirt underneath Jack’s fingernails, and he swung Sarah’s hand slightly, nervously before letting go. Sarah jammed her hand in her pocket, and Jack used his to adjust at the red bandana knotted around his neck.

Jack cleared his throat. “Or you know,” he went on. “Moby Dick maybe. I hear he’s a pretty stand up guy.”

“Oh?” Sarah looked away from Jack to hide her smile. “What else have you heard?”

Jack shrugged. “His real name’s Moby Richard, because Dick’s how they used to pronounce Richard in olden times. Speaking of names, what’s yours?”

“Sarah Jacobs.”

“Jack Kelly.”

“I know.” Sarah reached out to shake his hand, and for the second time their fingers intertwined. The blush that Sarah could feel rising in her cheeks was nothing short of treacherous. She turned abruptly.

“We do have a few books about Santa Fe,” said Sarah. “Here, I’ll show you.”


End file.
